Coventry's Markets

On 3rd Mar 2014 2:41pm, Peter Judd said: .....Another stall holder called Albert Norman (a local artist) also had a warehouse where he would spend many hours producing some very off the wall art.....

On 5th Mar 2014 12:35am, Disorganised1 said: I have 3 pen and ink pictures done by a local artist who was I believe a market trader. There is no name on them, but each is 'signed' with 7 small birds.

On 3rd Mar 2014 2:41pm, Peter Judd said: My grandfather had a fruit and green grocers shop under the old market hall clock, the story goes that it was demolished during the blitz, his main concern was that he had just taken Christmas stock in of Lincan products, and the Germans blew it all up, I understand that the clock mechanism was accessed from within the shop.I would welcome any pics of the shop if anyone has any. After the war my father took a stall in the Barracks market at a rent of 10 shillings a week including a huge warehouse that used to be used for stabling the horses when the site was used as a barracks, the warehouses backed on to what used to be the Empire cinema but at a much lower level. Another stall holder called Albert Norman (a local artist) also had a warehouse where he would spend many hours producing some very off the wall art. He was a member of the Umbrella club in little park street and was assumed to be from the travelling fraternity. I spent all of my school holidays and after school hours at the market and the town centre was my playground in the fifties, I remember the Cooper brothers having a crock stall and when the deliveries of crockery would arrive from British rail they used to drop me inside the huge wooden barrels to hand out the crocks that were very carefully packed in straw. There is a photo of me somewhere sat on top of boxes of daffodils selling them for 3d a bunch, another pic shows mum behind the stall with potatoes in front that we're also 3d a pound, the old fella would turn in his grave if he saw the prices now. There was uproar when the new circular market opened and the Barracks stall holders were invited to move the rents for the new pitches was £3.00 per week with an additional ten shillings for the underground warehouses. I have many memories of market life if anyone would like me to relate, but being new to the site I don't want to be boring,